Alex Beckett, star of BBC comedy W1A, dies at 35

♦alex Beckett, the actor who played Barney Lumsden in the BBC comedy series W1A, has died suddenly at the age of 35.

The news was announced yesterday by the Donmar Warehouse, where he had been appearing in The Way of the World. No cause of death was given and the theatre has cancelled this week’s performances as a mark of respect and to give some time to the company, “who all loved Alex”.

Shane Allen, the BBC’S controller of comedy commissioning, said: “We’re all incredibly crushed to hear of Alex’s untimely death. He was a prolific, versatile and much-admired comedy star whose role as Barney Lumsden in both Twenty Twelve and W1A was a key ingredient of their success.”